My Teaching

First Lead Teaching Week Lesson Plan

Reflection of First Lead Teaching Week

1. What success did you experience this week as a lead teacher? That is, what do you think went well and why did it go well? Will this experience provide you with guidance for your next lead teaching week? In other words, did these successes teach you something about what you should repeat for your next lead teaching week?
   • Success that I experienced this week was seeing that each day got better; transitions went smoother, I learned ways that I could get the children’s attention, interactions with children and parents grew in a positive way. One main item that has stuck with me was how well the children responded to the “eyes are watching, ears are listening” tune. They had just learned this tune the week before at large group, I used it this week, but I didn’t use the tune just the main lyric of “eyes are watching, ears are listening” and this would get their attention. When this first happened on Tuesday I was surprised how well it worked that I had forgotten what I was about to say. I saw this as a success because on Monday, the children had a lot of excitement and energy that it was difficult to get their attention and keeping it was difficult at times that Stacey had to step in and assist. During our midterm review she told me that Tuesday was my best day and that she should have recorded me for that day. This boosted my confidence in my skill levels as a teacher and I plan on proceeding to work on this so when I have my second lead teach week, I’ll be better prepared.
2. What areas would you have liked to see be more successful? That is, what do you think could have gone better, and why? How will you use this information in your next lead teaching week?
   • I feel that I can improve on large group activities. I had at least two large group times that I feel confident in, while the other two could have been better. I could have been better prepared by reviewing the stories and activities that I had planned to do at large group. I don’t feel that this was successful because I had trouble keeping the children focused on what I wanted them to do, which I knew I could have continued to answer their questions instead of reading the book I was in the middle of reading, but I was worrying about how much time I had before starting the main activities that were panned out. For my next lead teach week I will use this information and if it is appropriate, I’ll let the children carry on with the activity; to ask questions and say what they want to say. I could direct them in this by asking them questions that can be more engaging for them.
3. What were your biggest personal challenges while playing the role of lead teacher?
   • A big personal challenge for me was having to direct and tell my mentor and assistant teachers what to do. Overseeing others is a challenge for me especially if they are older than me, because I grew up to be respectful and courteous to anyone who was older than me. So being in charge can sometimes be a challenge for me. I think that I could improve this by just continuing to practice during my lead teach week and communicating with my mentor.
4. What did you learn about yourself while playing the role of lead teacher?
   • Something I learned about playing the role of lead teacher is my organizational skills, I need to improve on my organizational skills. I planned out the whole week, full of fun and interactive activities and yet I would forget everything that I was doing when the day came. For my next lead teach week I know to make a to-do-list, review materials the night before and morning of to be better prepared and have the confidence to teach the children.

Overall, this week was very educational for myself and the skills that I have and the skills I need to improve on. I feel that this week was a success because the further into the week I got, the more I learned and improved for the next day. If I learned something and there is improvement than I see that as a success.

Second Lead Teaching Week Lesson Plan